Powder dispensing unit



July 7, 1964 T. A. MILLER POWDER DISPENSING UNIT Filed Oct. 15, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. THEODORE A.M|LLER ATTYS.

T. A. MILLER POWDER DISPENSING UNIT July 7, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 15, 1962 INVENTOR. THEODORE A.M|LLER "04%" g M III ATTYS.

United States Patent 3,140,018 POWDER DISPENSING UNIT Theodore A. Miller, 2038 Main St., Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio Filed Oct. 15, 1962, Ser. No. 230,555 3 Claims. (Cl. 222-283) This invention relates to a dispenser unit for granulated and powdered materials, for example, polyethylene powders, in controllable specific quantities.

Heretofore various dispenser units for depositing measured charges of molding materials into molds have been proposed. However, these dispensers are cumbersome, expensive, require excessive maintenance, and generally operate more slowly than mass production industries demand. Moreover, the known art does not have an adequate dispenser unit for polyethylene or like powders that give an accurate measured unit rapidly.

It is the general object of the invention to avoid and overcome the foregoing and other diificulties of and objections to prior art practices by the provisions of a relatively simple, inexpensive, durable, accurate and rapid dispenser of polyethylene powder, or the like, with the added features of an easily adjustable dispensing unit, low operating costs, low maintenance costs, and few mechanical parts.

Another object of the invention is to provide a measuring chamber that is easily adjusted to change the unit measured.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an inflatable diaphragm to adjust further the size of the dispensing chamber for smaller volumetric unit measurement than provided by the mechanical adjustment, and to completely clear the dispensing chamber of all material, thus providing a very accurate unit measurement.

Another object of the invention is to provide apparatus of the character described which is adapted to quickly and repetitively feed accurate charges or loads of powdered, granular and like molding materials to molds in which the material is molded.

Another object of the invention is to provide a simple, but highly effective air motor mechanism to control the rate of dispensing, and which arrangement can be adjusted to provide practically any dispensing rate to suit any desired operation.

The aforesaid objects of the invention, and other ob jects which will become apparent as the description proceeds, are achieved by providing a funnel-shaped material holding cone which feeds through an opening into the top of a cylindrically shaped adjustable dispensing chamber, the dispensing chamber when filled being rotated 180 to dispense the material in the chamber through a flexible discharge tube, the rotation being achieved by means of a simple rack and gear, said rack and gear being controlled by an adjustable air motor. The advantageous features of the invention are the minimum of moving mechanical parts, the simplicity of adjustment of the size of the dispensing chamber, and the easy control of the rate of dispensing.

For a better understanding of the invention, reference should be made to the accompanying drawings, where:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevation of one embodiment of the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevation;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged vertical cross sectional view ice of the dispensing chamber taken substantially on line 33 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 4 is a reduced transverse cross sectional view on line 4-4 of FIGURE 3, with the dispensing chamber turned to the load position; 3

FIGURE 5 is a view like FIGURE 4 but with the dispensing chamber turned to the unload position; and

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged fragmentary cross sectional view of a rubber diaphragm and bellows on the chamber size adjusting plate.

Although the principles of the invention are broadly applicable to dispensing practically any non-liquid but fiowable material, the invention is usually employed in conjunction with dispensing polyethylene powder or the like and hence it has been so illustrated and will be so described.

In the drawings, the numeral 10 indicates generally the dispensing unit which includes a cylindrical storage bin 12, a funnel-shaped bottom 14 for the bin, a cylindrical feed pipe 16, a short funnel 18, a cylindrical dispensing chamber housing 20, a discharge funnel 22 and a flexible discharge hose 24. Usually all parts of the unit except the flexible hose 24 are of plate, tubing and sheet metal and are integrally connected together, as by brazing or weldmg.

The dispensing chamber housing 20 has its axis at right angles to the axes of the remaining parts of the assembly, and as best seen in FIGURE 3, the ends of the housing are closed by circular plate 26 fastened in position with screws 28.

Rotatably mounted inside the housing 20 is a cylindrical dispensing chamber 30 having circular end plate 32 secured in place by screws 34. In order to provide the rotary mounting, each plate 26 of the chamber housing has a hollow hub 36 axially secured thereto so as to provide rotary bearings for trunnions 38 and 39 secured to the end plates 32 by screws 41. Anti-friction bushings 40 are provided between the trunnions 38 and 39 and the hubs 36.

The dispensing chamber 30 is formed with an opening 42 which is adapted to be aligned, upon the rotation of the chamber, with either charge opening 44 from the feed pipe 16 or with discharge opening 46 to discharge funnel 22.

In order to rotate the dispensing chamber 30 from load or charge receiving position to load discharging position, an air motor 50 is provided. The motor 50 is mounted on a bracket 52 secured to the bottom 14 of the storage bin 12, and with the piston rod 54 of the motor having a rack 56 secured thereto. The rack 56 engages in driving relation with a pinion 58 fixed to the trunnions 38, and the hollow hub 36 has secured thereto a bracket 60 for slidably supporting the rack 56 and to hold it in engagement with the pinion 58.

The air motor 50 is controlled by a push button 62 mounted on the flexible hose 24. When the operator pushes the button 62, air is fed to one side of the air motor piston to drive it in the direction to rotate the dispensing chamber 30 from load receiving to load discharging position. The operator keeps his finger on the button 62 for a short dwell period to allow the chamber to discharge, then the button 62 is released. This reverses the air flow to the air motor to return the chamber 30 to load receiving position and a short dwell period for loading is allowed. Thereafter, the cycle can be repeated by again pushing the button. The normal operating cycle is four seconds so that up to fifteen charges per minute can be delivered by the dispenser.

The dispensing chamber 30 is made adjustable in size so that charges of a selected weight between 2 pounds and 5 pounds, for example, can be delivered. To this end, the trunnion 39 is made with an axial bore which slidably receives a rod 64 having a knob 66 at its outer end and a circular plate 68 at its inner end. The plate 68 has a close sliding fit in the chamber 30 and can bepositioned at any of a plurality of points in the chamber between the full line position in FIGURE 3 and the chain dotted position. A spring detent 70 carried by the trunnion 39 engages resiliently with any selected one of a plurality of spaced circular grooves 72 on the rod 64 to position the plate in the selected position to give a charge of the weight desired.

With the rod 64 towards or at the maximum load position which puts the circular plate 68 in the position of the chain dotted line, it can be seen a possibility exists; that when the dispensing chamber 30 is rotated to dis charge position, that some of the powder may catch in the bottom of the dispensing chamber between the discharge openings 42 and 46 and the circular plate 68 and not fall out by gravitational force alone. Therefore, with reference to FIGURE 6, the invention provides in at least certain embodiments, a rubber bellows-diaphragm 74 to fit on the circular plate. 68 in the manner shown. Thus after each rotation of the dispensing chamber to the unload position, a short burst of air is applied through the plunger 64 by means of a hole 76, which inflates the rubber bellows-diaphragm. As the bellows-diaphragm expand any powder which has remained in the dispensing chamber is forced to the discharge openings 42 and 46, thus completely clearing the discharge chamber. By use of this bellows-diaphragm, a complete clearing of the discharge chamber is achieved, and therefore a very accurate measurement of each load or unit discharged. Alternatively, the bellows-diaphragm 74 can be adjustably expanded from the minimum mechanical load position to decrease the volume of the dispensing chamber to provide any desired volume less than the minimum of about 2 pounds, in this case, provided by the plate 68 at the minimum load position. In this alternate operation, the diaphragm 74 is expanded to and left at a desired extension of the plate 68 as long as charges of the selected smaller amount are to be delivered.

When the apparatus is employed without the bellowsdiaphragm, it is evident that a small quantity of each load or charge may remain in the dispensing chamber, particularly when the plate 69 is towards the chain-dotted position, but this is usually not objectionable. This is because substantially the same amount remains undelivered after each dispensing cycle and thus, equal quantities are still dispensed. Should the dispensed quantity be less than desired, the plate 68 can be repositioned to the next larger position.

Even though it is believed the operation of the apparatus will be apparent from the foregoing description, a brief review thereof will now be made for purposes of summary and simplification. Particularly, the dispenser operates by filling the storage bin 12 and funnel 14 at the top which may or may not be covered. Powder falls by gravity to fill the dispensing chamber 30. At this time the opening on the dispensing chamber 42 is positioned upward and is directly in line with the opening 44 to the storage funnel. When it is desired to discharge the contents of the dispensing chamber, the button 62 is pushed and air is directed to the air motor 50 which in turn rotates the gear 58 which in turn rotates the dispensing chamber 180. The powder now flows or falls by gravitational force from the bottom of the dispensing chamber through the opening 42 which is now in line with the opening 46 on the bottom of the dispensing chamber housing. The quantity of powder to be dispensed is controlled by the rod 64 which is adjustably positioned to provide the desired weight load or charge. If it is desirable to completely clear the dispensing chamber or provide measured volume less than provided for mechanically, the rubber type bellows-diaphragm 74 can be installed on the circular plate 68 inside the dispensing chamber and air pressure directed inside these bellows causing them to expand and force all remaining powder out of the dispensing chamber, or decrease the size of the dispensing chamber for smaller volume shots.

In the operation of the apparatus of the invention, it is normally supported by overhead cable means (not shown) which may be counterweighted. The apparatus is normally positioned above a mold having a single cavity or a plurality of cavities, each cavity to be supplied with a charge of the dispensed material. The mold is then normally closed and moved on to the molding operation, with another mold being moved into charging position. The flexible hose 24 is gripped by the operator near the push button 62 so that usually the same hand of the operator that controls the push button serves to guide the hose to direct the dispensed charge of powder into the mold cavity.

It will be recognized that the objectives of the invention have been achieved by a very simple, light weight, compact, inexpensive, and mechanically simple design, which achieves a rapid, accurate dispenser unit utilizing relatively simple mechanism.

While in accordance with the patent statutes one best known embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described in detail, it is to be particularly understood that the invention is not limited thereto or thereby, but that the inventive scope is defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for dispensing flowable powdery materials including means for storing a quantity of the material, a housing for receiving by gravity flow the material from the storing means, a flexible tube for receiving by gravity flow the material from the housing, a hollow cylinder rotatably mounted in the housing, said cylinder having an opening adapted to be turned to load position to receive the material from the storing means and to unload position to discharge the material to the flexible tube, motor means mounted adjacent the housing, rack and gear means connecting the motor means to turn the cylinder to and from load and unload position, means controlling the motor means and mounted on the flexible tube, a plate forming one end of the hollow cylinder, rod means operable from outside the housing and connected to the plate for changing the internal size of the hollow cylinder, and an inflatable bellows-diaphragm mounted on the plate for assisting in discharging the material from the cylinder to the flexible tube to provide smaller volume adjustment than provided mechanically.

2. Apparatus for dispensing flowable powdery materials including means for storing a quantity of the material, a housing for receiving by gravity flow the material from the storing means, a tube for receiving by gravity flow the material from the housing, a hollow cylinder rotatably mounted in the housing, said cylinder having an opening adapted to be turned to load position to receive the material from the storing means and to unload position to discharge the material to the tube, motor means mounted adjacent the housing, rack and gear means connecting the motor means to turn the cylinder to and from load and unload position, means controlling the motor means and mounted on the tube, a plate forming one end of the hollow cylinder, and rod means operable from outside the housing and connected to the plate for changing the internal size of the hollow cylinder, an inflatable bellowsdiaphragm mounted on the plate for assisting in discharging the material from the cylinder to the flexible tube, and means to actuate the inflatable bellows-diaphragm.

3. Apparatus for dispensing flowable powdery materials including means for storing a quantity of the material, a

housing for receiving by gravity flow the material from the storing means, a tube for receiving by gravity flow the material from the housing, a hollow cylinder rotatably mounted in the housing, said cylinder having an opening adapted to be turned to load position to receive the material from the storing means and to unload position to discharge the material to the tube, motor means to turn the cylinder to and from load and unload position, means controlling the motor means, rod means operable from References Cited in the file of this patent outside the housing for changing the internal size of the 10 2,881,958

UNITED STATES PATENTS Gillespie Feb. 18, Irish Dec. 28, Johnson Dec. 8, Sheen Apr. 14, 

3. APPARATUS FOR DISPENSING FLOWABLE POWDERY MATERIALS INCLUDING MEANS FOR STORING A QUANTITY OF THE MATERIAL, A HOUSING FOR RECEIVING BY GRAVITY FLOW THE MATERIAL FROM THE STORING MEANS, A TUBE FOR RECEIVING BY GRAVITY FLOW THE MATERIAL FROM THE HOUSING, A HOLLOW CYLINDER ROTATABLY MOUNTED IN THE HOUSING, SAID CYLINDER HAVING AN OPENING ADAPTED TO BE TURNED TO LOAD POSITION TO RECEIVE THE MATERIAL FROM THE STORING MEANS AND TO UNLOAD POSITION TO DISCHARGE THE MATERIAL TO THE TUBE, MOTOR MEANS TO TURN THE CYLINDER TO AND FROM LOAD AND UNLOAD POSITION, MEANS CONTROLLING THE MOTOR MEANS, ROD MEANS OPERABLE FROM OUTSIDE THE HOUSING FOR CHANGING THE INTERNAL SIZE OF THE HOLLOW CYLINDER, AND AN INFLATABLE BELLOWS-DIAPHRAGM MOUNTED ON THE MEANS FOR CHANGING THE INTERNAL SIZE OF THE HOLLOW CYLINDER. 